UN chief Ban Ki-moon met the leader of Burma’s ruling junta today, hoping to persuade him into allowing full international access to 2.5 million cyclone survivors.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon flew over the cyclone-ravaged landscape of Burma’s heartland today, touching down to learn from officials’ briefings and heart-to-heart chats with storm victims of the misery that he hopes more foreign assistance can alleviate.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says a cargo ship carrying relief supplies for more than 1,000 cyclone victims in Burma has sunk.